Exportaciones - History Lab

Drawing of the production of grana or cochineal

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:14 +0000

Cochineal is a species of aphid, mainly from Mexico and Peru, which has been used in the Americas for more than 2,000 years to dye clothes and colour food. In the 16th century, the Spanish began exporting it to Europe, where it fetched a high price as a dye for cloth and for use by painters. Later, the Spanish introduced it to the Canary Islands, where its cultivation became an important economic resource for the islands. When the Spanish conquered Mexico in 1521, they saw the indigenous people collecting insects from the nopales and soon realised its exceptional properties as a natural pigment. In Europe, since the Middle Ages, people had been looking for ways to obtain a perfect red pigment to dye fabrics. Medieval dyers, who were organised in guilds, were capable of producing many colours, but red was extremely difficult to obtain. The rich crimson and scarlet silks were dyed with kermes in centres located especially in Italy and Sicily. With the discovery of America, cochineal displaced kermes as it produced a stronger red in smaller quantities. By the 1570s, the European textile industry had become dependent on the use of cochineal. According to sources of the period, in 1580, around 133 tons of grana were produced in the whole of New Spain alone. Its growth did not stop increasing for centuries and soon ships loaded with dried insects were also targeted by pirates.

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Main products of the Mallorcan maritime trade (1451-1464)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:31 +0000

Thanks to the insurance contracts of Mallorca’s maritime trade, it is possible to offer statistical tables of Mallorcan exports, as well as to study the differentiated value of each type of product.
By examining the insurances of the notary Miquel Boix, a total of 1,008 insurance contracts between 1451 and 1464 can be clarified, most of them centred on 1457 and the two final years, 1463 and 1464. With regard to the origin of the goods, 613 of them had Mallorca as their point of departure and 196 had Mallorca as their destination, with the rest being distributed nationally between Menorca and Ibiza. All in all, the total of the 1,008 contracts amount to 68,391.1 pounds, of which almost 300 contracts belong to the fabric trade. The rest of the goods in terms of their proportion are oil, leather, ship’s hulls, wax and wool.

The post Main products of the Mallorcan maritime trade (1451-1464) first appeared on History Lab.

Exports through the Port of Palma de Mallorca, 1720-1768

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:57 +0000

The investments of the small merchants, aimed at forming manufacturing infrastructures, had a direct impact on the guild workforce and certain segments of the peasantry. However, the Enlightenment philosophy planned a type of manufacturing to be encouraged: the model of popular industry. This was to fulfil a dual function: not to modify the relations of production and to prevent the concentration of workers in order to avoid unitary channelling. The period 1720-1760 was the period that revolved around the development of craftsmanship, as its consolidation was manifested by the clear predisposition of the Mallorcan ilustrados to encourage textile activities. On the other hand, there was a preference for coarse manufactures, goods with low opportunity costs, as they were made at the end of the day in the fields and, in certain cases, during the same day. Between 1794 and 1820, the specialisation in wine-growing led to the existence of carob trees, fig trees, fruit trees… Almonds and derivatives of wine-growing, mainly eau-de-vie, were marketed.

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The Franco-Spanish balance of trade in the mid-16th century

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:40 +0000

The trade balance is a record that measures the relationship between imports and exports in a particular area and period. The contrast between the two determines the balance, that is, the positive or negative difference in the balance of trade. The author’s resource is based on Franco-Spanish trade through the port of Bilbao between 1544 and 1550. In general terms, the balance of trade showed a clear trade deficit with Spain, with more materials and goods being bought from France than were sold to it. Depending on the nature of the trading company (own account, in company, or on behalf of others), the results, although they follow the same deficit trend, have different impacts. On behalf of others, products were exported for a total value of 1,430,522 maravedís, and 237,911,576 maravedís were imported; a negative balance of 236,481,054. All this shows the nature of the port of Bilbao based on transit trade, where the goods received were hardly retained and from where they were distributed to the rest of the Peninsula. A small amount of the large volume of imports was destined for the local Bilbao trade, while the bulk went to Navarre, La Rioja and Castile, and even to America via Seville.

The post The Franco-Spanish balance of trade in the mid-16th century first appeared on History Lab.

Rice prices in Valencia, according to the mercantile correspondence of the delegates in the city of the Tuscan company of Francesco di Marco Datini (1393-1395)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:27 +0000

The Valencian rice product has enjoyed great international popularity. Its commercialisation was an important source of income for the fields of Valencia and surrounding areas, as well as for traders. The value of the product for the economy meant that special attention was paid to its commercialisation, establishing the supply routes to the Valencian centre, although not intervening in the regulation of prices. However, despite the general stability of food and industrial prices, and the aforementioned attention to supply, between 1395 and 1398 there was a downward trend in the price of rice. What could be the reasons for this? Variable demand, heavily influenced by the purchases of foreign merchants and a lack of political intervention caused the price of rice to fall in sueldos (Valencian modena) per load of rice. The causes also include the possibility of an abundant harvest that increased supply in the face of variable demand, causing prices to fall; likewise, marketing negotiations could have an influence (even more so among foreign merchants whose international destinations could be immersed in local crises). These dynamics were maintained at the dawn of modernity throughout the 15th century.

The post Rice prices in Valencia, according to the mercantile correspondence of the delegates in the city of the Tuscan company of Francesco di Marco Datini (1393-1395) first appeared on History Lab.